


through grapevines

by Talls



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Neil loves Andrew a lot, Renee and Allison are deeply in love I don't make the rules, and his friends love him a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talls/pseuds/Talls
Summary: In which Neil is Andrew's Biggest Fan™ and makes sure his friends know that,or Four Times Neil Gushes about his Cool Boyfriend to the Upperclassmen





	through grapevines

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, posting anything in this fandom again is kind of a rush. I'm actually working on an update to the time travel fic (it's been two goddamn years but I'm actually gonna update that), but this was just my way of playing with the characters again for the first time in a while.

i. 

Neil blushes when he’s drunk. Matt didn’t really see that coming, but as soon as the first two shots hit Neil, he started blushing and didn’t stop. It was kind of adorable in its own way, Neil giggly and flushed as Matt prodded him with questions about his life. He’s usually so composed and calculated, on guard and in control. Matt knows that Neil likes being around him, considers him a friend, but seeing Neil drunk and carefree with Matt, fully at home, makes Matt feel warm. 

Matt had commandeered Neil for a night in with him, claiming he never got to see Neil anymore now that he lived with Kevin and Andrew. Neil had tried to protest that they spent every practice together, but Matt’s puppy eyes are very difficult to resist. So, Neil submitted to an evening of drinking and manly bonding with Matt while the rest of the Monsters went out to get plastered and make bad choices, and the girls huddled together to talk shit (Allison and Dan) and dispense advice (Renee). 

“What’s it like living with Nicky and Aaron?” Neil asks, from his position on the floor next to the couch Matt is lying on. He has a shot glass in his hands but Matt has the bottle. For Neil’s health and safety of course. 

“It’s mostly fine. We’re united in backliner solidarity,” Matt pauses there to beat his chest, and Neil breaks out into another fit of giggles, “but other than that they’re fine. We get along, if that’s what you’re asking,” Matt says. “I mean, sometimes I have to tell Nicky to cool it, but it’s all in jest, and Aaron usually hits him before I have to step in. Aaron is quiet, and he spends more time with Katelyn in her dorm than here,” Matt finishes. “Why do you ask?” 

“I just-” Neil pauses to find the right words, and Matt takes a sip of tequila from the bottle in his hand. “I just can’t fucking stand Aaron,” he blurts out, and Matt almost chokes from laughing at Neil’s petulant tone. “He’s the worst person I’ve ever met, and I’ve actually been tortured by the mob. That’s how bad Aaron is to me,” Neil continues. 

“You hate him that much?” Matt asks, grinning. 

“He’s such a cowardly shithead, and Andrew had put up with so much ridiculous bullshit from him, and I had to watch Andrew put up with it. Also, I’m not allowed to kill him, even though he’s such a dick to me.” Matt’s eyes widen at that last part, but Neil’s delivery didn’t imply a joke there. Matt takes a second to remind himself that Neil grew up in a very murdery household. He wonders if Neil’s ever killed anyone. 

“Have you ever killed anyone?” Matt asks. Wow, his brain-to-mouth filter is absolutely gone. 

“Yeah. But, to be fair, they were definitely gonna kill me if I didn’t kill them first. Self-defense, you know?” Neil says sagely, as if expecting Matt to understand. In a weird way, Matt does. Not from experience of course, but the gist of the story, he gets. “I wouldn’t actually kill Aaron. That would hurt Andrew, and I never want to hurt Andrew,” Neil says. 

“Speaking of that guy, I have the same question for you,” Matt says. Neil makes a blearily confused face. “How are your new roommates?” Matt clarifies. Realization dawns on Neil’s face about three seconds too slowly. It’s fine they have time to work through these things. 

“I mean, Kevin is Kevin. He’s terrible, but he’s also the best, you know?” Neil says, and Matt nods. He knows exactly what Neil is saying. He’s met Kevin. “And Andrew is,” Neil breaks off there and the smile that stretches across his face would almost be obscene if it wasn’t so incredibly sweet. 

“Wow. That good, huh?” Matt teases, and Neil giggles again, face turning even darker red. 

“Better,” Neil says, and Matt laughs this time. 

“When did you first get together?” Matt asks, trying to get any information to settle the outstanding bets. 

“I mean. It’s hard to figure out when exactly we were a thing. We did a lot of kinda thingish things before I knew what was going on,” Neil says, as if that makes any sense at all. Before Matt can ask for clarification, Neil keeps going. “Our first kiss was the day he bought the Maserati, if that helps. He told me he liked me before then. I just didn’t know what to do with that for a while.” 

“He told you he liked you?” Matt asks. He trusts Neil, but that doesn’t sound like Andrew. Andrew feels like the kind of guy who would declare romantic intent by throwing a brick through a window with a note that said ‘run’. 

“Well, not exactly. He told me he hated every inch of me but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t blow me,” Neil says, and Matt’s eyes almost fly out of his skull. “Which basically meant he really liked me a lot but didn’t want to,” Neil continues, but Matt can’t handle any new stimulus. 

“He actually said that to you? Like out loud?” Matt asks, incredulously. 

“Oh yeah. He didn’t want to, but Roland accidentally said some weird stuff to me about getting tied down and I asked Andrew about it, and he doesn’t lie so,” Neil clarifies, blowing Matt’s mind a little more. 

“I have to say, its really really weird imagining Andrew in that context. I know he’s your boyfriend or whatever, but to me he’ll always be that angry midget who almost killed all of us at one point and got me high,” Matt says. He looks down at Neil to see that flushed smile dim a little bit. Which was not the intent. Damn. “I mean-” Matt tries to backtrack but Neil cuts him off. 

“No, I know. He did those things. I guess I know a very different Andrew. And that’s because I tried really hard to figure him out. To the point where he almost stabbed me a couple times,” Neil says. Matt really doesn’t get this relationship. 

“I mean, he drugged me too. And he would say terrible things and violate my privacy and in the beginning there wasn’t anyone in the world I hated more than him,” Neil continues. His voice is wondering and adoring and Matt doesn’t know how Neil can say those things in that tone. “But he’s more than that. He’s the strongest person I know. He gave me the keys to his house and told me it could be my home, and he did everything he could to protect me when I needed it, and he listened to all of my lies and bullshit and accepted it, and he asked me for permission every single time he kissed me.” 

“Wait, really? Every time?” Matt asks. 

“Yeah. He still does, but I keep telling him it’s always yes and he’s starting to believe me,” Neil says. 

“I didn’t know that,” Matt says. 

“He doesn’t like to make it obvious. But he really never takes me for granted, you know? Even though he definitely could. And I never take him for granted either. Everything he gives me, everything he lets me see is a privilege, not a right. I’m lucky he lets me look at him, much less touch him, especially after everything he’s been through,” Neil says, looking off into middle distance. 

Matt thinks about Dan, and how she couldn’t stand the men around her when they first met. How he had to prove, over and over, that he wasn’t going to hurt her for her to even consider going out with him. How lucky he felt the first time she laughed at one of his jokes, the first time she kissed him, the first time she called him her boyfriend. How he still feels like a lottery winner every time she kisses him, even though these days she spends the night more often than not. 

He pours Neil another shot, and takes a swig as well. “Cheers to that, bro.” 

ii.

Dan has instituted what she calls ‘Captain Sessions, where, once a month, she and Neil sit and talk about Exy and the team non-stop for hours. Dan suspects that it’s one of Neil’s favorite activities, other than hooking up with Andrew and practices with Kevin. She hates to agree with Andrew about anything ever, but Neil really is a junkie. Luckily, she is too. 

“Jack’s shooting needs work,” Neil says, watching the tapes of their last game. “And he’s too cocky to drill as hard as he needs.” 

“What are you planning on doing about that?” Dan asks. She asks him questions like this a lot, trying to figure out what kind of captain he’ll be when she leaves.

“I’m going to challenge him to a shoot-out. If he loses, he has to submit to extra practices with Kevin until I say he’s good enough, no bitching. If I lose, he gets to run one less suicide than the rest of the team for a month,” Neil says. 

“Would he actually agree to that?” Dan asks. 

“He will if I challenge him in front of everyone,” Neil says. 

“Public humiliation?” Dan asks. It’s definitely inventive, and probably effective. She’s not sure if she supports it, but she’s getting tired of Jack’s attitude, and it’d be funny to see him taken down a peg. 

“Andrew’s idea. It’ll work,” Neil says. Realization dawns on Dan. 

“Ah. The patented Minyard technique. Break him, and then he’ll fall in line,” Dan says, letting the disdain show in her voice. 

“It works. And if this was Andrew, he would have destroyed him. I’m just challenging him. He’s free to decline the challenge if he wants,” Neil says, tone a little more chilly than before. 

“He won’t,” Dan says. The ego on that kid is astounding. 

“That’s on him, then. Not me,” Neil says. 

“That’s cold,” Dan says. 

“It’s necessary. We’ve given him every opportunity to work with the team instead of for himself. He hasn’t. This is a wake-up call, not an attack,” Neil says. “If you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to. But it’ll work.” Neil’s eyes are focused on the screen in front of him. Dan studies his profile. Neil is adorable in his own awkward way, and Dan spends a lot of her time wondering how to take care of him when he won’t take care of himself, but she sometimes forgets how dangerous he is. How much he’s survived. He’s ruthless in his own way. She can appreciate that for what it is. Andrew probably can too. 

“I trust you,” she says finally, and his eyes flicker to her in shock. He makes that face that Nicky always sighs over, like it’s a surprise that anyone would ever listen to him, or care about him, or do a single nice thing for him. It’s just as heartbreaking as Nicky says it is. “You took us to the championships last year. We were a mess, and you fixed it. If you say this is necessary, then it is.” 

They watch in silence for a little bit. 

“Thank you,” Neil says quietly. 

“If it doesn’t work, it’s on you though,” she teases. 

“It’ll work,” Neil says, with that same conviction, though his tone is warmer. 

“Why, because Andrew says so?” Dan asks.

“Yes,” Neil says. 

“And he’s never wrong?” Dan prods further. 

“Not about Exy,” Neil says. 

“How? He doesn’t even care about the sport,” Dan asks. 

“He watches. He has an eidetic memory and a grasp of sports psychology and pattern-finding that’s almost frightening. Remember that impossible save against the Terrapins last year?” Neil asks. Dan nods. It had been a game-winning save. Dan remembered how for a glorious second, Dan forgot about every regret she had about Andrew joining the team. 

“What about it?” Dan asks. 

“He was diving for it before the ball left the striker’s racket,” Neil said, in the tone of someone who just won an argument. 

“How could he have known?” Dan asks.

“He heard Coach make an offhand comment about the player’s habits during halftime, internalized it, and applied it at his most exhausted and withdrawal-ridden moment,” Neil says. Dan’s eyes widened. “He can recite the heights of every person on a team if he glances at a roster once, I would know, I tested him. He’s strategic in a way nobody else is, passing forwards to specific strikers with more accuracy than almost any other goalkeeper in the league,” Neil gushes. Dan smiles despite herself at Neil’s obvious enthusiasm. He sounds like a fanboy. 

“So he’s your informant on the team?” Dan asks. 

“Sometimes. He usually doesn’t care enough to use the information he has unless it interferes with his personal goals, but when I get really annoying he’ll help me out,” Neil says. “And I can be very annoying when I want to be,” he finishes with a smirk on his face. 

“Sounds healthy,” Dan jokes. Neil shrugs philosophically. 

“Healthiest thing I’ve ever had,” he says, and Dan doesn’t really know how to respond to that. She thinks she understands Neil a little better though. They sit in silence for a little bit. 

“Nicky is responding late to calls,” Dan points out. 

The session continues. 

 

iii.

“Your hair could be so incredible if only you had a basic concept of personal grooming,” Allison says, running her hands through the wet mop of Neil’s auburn curls. He submits to her treatment with ill grace, but submits nonetheless. Allison knows that usually Neil wouldn’t agree to his particular scheme, but he’s begun to think about how much he’s gonna miss the upperclassmen next year, and Allison is not above leveraging that into a makeover. 

“As long as it stays out of my face on the court, it doesn’t matter what my hair does,” Neil says, to Allison’s chagrin. 

“What about looking hot? Don’t you care about looking good for your man?” Allison asks, half facetiously, half because she’s curious and she wants to know. 

“I mean, I guess. It’s not one of my top priorities really,” Neil says. “Andrew’s always attracted to me. I care about him thinking I’m hot way less than I care about him trusting me,” Neil finishes, and Allison can actually understand that. 

“Well, you can worry about the trust thing, and I’ll take care of the hot thing,” Allison declares, wielding scissors at him in the mirror. Neil smiles at that, a small genuine thing. It’s a cute expression, even on his scarred face. Allison won’t pretend that the scars are anything particularly beautiful, but she knows there are more important things in the world than beauty, and Neil’s scars represent those things: strength, stubbornness, survival.

Allison focuses on the haircut for a little bit, but that doesn’t stop her from providing a running commentary on everything that’s happened in her life recently. Neil is actually a great listener, as long as you don’t piss him off to the point where he unleashes his sharp tongue and pisses you off right back. Allison feels a certain camaraderie with him about that, but even she knows when to stop sometimes, and Neil really doesn’t. 

“So I told the attendant he could mind his own business, but he refused because he thought I was going to steal something, as if I would have wanted anything in that stupid shop anyways, which is ridiculous, I was only in there because Renee tore her favorite dress and that store sold similar ones and-” 

“How are you and Renee, by the way?” Neil interrupts and if Allison wasn’t so good at everything, she would have probably snipped off more of his hair than she intended. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Allison asks, startled into responding. She thought she had been so good about keeping it quiet. 

“You do know Andrew is Renee’s best friend right?” Neil asks, smirk on his lips. Allison narrows her eyes. 

“I’m Renee’s best friend,” she says, a little peeved that Neil could think Renee likes Andrew more than her. A little more scared that Neil is right. 

“Andrew is Renee’s best friend that she’s not actively trying to make out with,” Neil clarifies, and Allison hesitates to admit she blushes at that. “It’s not like we’ve told anyone else. We’re not really the type to gossip about stuff like this. I just wanted to know how you’re doing.” 

“We’re doing okay, I think. It’s pretty new, and we’re keeping it lowkey right now, just to figure out what we’re doing,” Allison says. “I really like her. A lot. She’s not my usual type, you know? I usually shack up with jackasses with potential, not sweethearts with dark pasts, but. I don’t know. Something about her makes me want to be a better person. Someone who thinks about other people first, and who forgives people more often, and who thinks before she speaks,” Allison confesses. “And she wants me too, and I feel like the luckiest person alive.” 

“I get that,” Neil says. Allison doesn’t really know how Andrew ‘Stabby Murder Bastard’ Minyard could inspire Neil the way Renee inspires Allison, but she’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just this once. 

They sit in silence for a little bit, before Allison opens her mouth again. “Actually. I need some advice.” 

“Advice about what?” Neil asks. Allison clears her throat and blows a strand of hair out of her face. 

“Not to make it a competition, but I know I’m not close to the level of fucked up that you and Andrew and Renee are,” Allison begins, and Neil barks a laugh that’s more surprise than joy, “so I have no idea how to deal with the nightmares. And I want to be able to deal with the nightmares, you know?” Allison finishes. The humor has melted off of Neil’s face, leaving behind something focused and considering. 

“Well, the most important thing to realize is you are never going to be able to deal with her nightmares. She’s the only one who can. You’re just there to help her out if she wants it,” Neil says. 

“Well, how do I help?” Allison asks. 

“Just ask her,” Neil says, and Allison rolls her eyes. 

“You and the asking thing, I swear to god,” Allison mutters. 

“I’m serious. The only person who knows what’s going through her head is her, and she’ll let you know if you can do anything. She’s not expecting you to read her mind, so why would you expect yourself to be able to?” Neil asks. 

“What do you do when he has nightmares?” Allison asks. “I mean, his have got to be worse than most.” Neil nods. She’s right. 

“I ask him if he wants me to leave or stay. If he wants me to leave, I get up and leave the room, and try to have something he likes waiting for when he decides to come join me. Usually it’s a bowl of ice cream, sometimes its a cigarette. If he wants to talk about it, he can talk about it, but I don’t ask. If he wants me to stay, I stay still and let him tell me what he’s comfortable with. Sometimes he wants me to stay, but doesn’t want me to touch him or look at him. It’s his choice.” 

“What if he says he wants you to stay, but he actually wants you to leave?” Allison asks. She doesn’t want Renee to think she has an obligation to her.

“I trust Andrew to be honest about his limits and boundaries, and he trusts me to respect that. If I think I know better than Andrew when he’s choosing what to consent to, then I’m no better than anyone in his past,” Neil says with finality. Allison nods. It makes sense. And it clearly works for them. 

“Thanks,” Allison says, after a few moments of silence. 

“No problem. I hope I helped a little,” Neil says, a bit self-consciously. 

“You did. So I won't charge you for this incredible haircut,” Allison retorts. 

“Well thank you for not charging me for something you definitely forced me to do for your own amusement,” Neil says, like the sarcastic jackass he is at heart. He looks intrigued by his new hair though, turning his head this way and that to see the different angles before smiling softly.

“You're so welcome,” Allison responds, smiling sweetly like the catty bitch she is at heart. What? She can respect a kindred spirit. 

iv.

Renee flips Neil onto his back with gusto for the seventh time. His breath flies out of his chest in a harsh exhalation. Renee offers him a hand up off of the mat but he waves it off, content to lie back on the blue mat. Renee smiles beatifically. 

“You did better this time,” she offers, and he snorts. 

“Yeah, I lasted about three seconds longer,” he jokes and she can’t really refute that so she stays silent. It doesn’t bother Neil, of course. Silence is the language he deals in most often these days. 

Renee offered to spar with Neil to get him better at hand-to-hand not that long ago, not really expecting him to take her up on it. Even though they had gotten significantly closer to each other after Neil’s freshman year, Renee had expected Neil to want to learn from Andrew. When she had asked him, he had just blushed and said, “I feel like grappling with Andrew would end up being counter-productive,” and Renee had bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing. 

Renee walks to the edge of the mat to grab their water bottles before sitting next to Neil’s prone form. 

“We can end this session early if you want,” Renee says, and giggles a little when Neil agrees immediately. “How have you been Neil?” 

“I’m fine,” he responds instinctively, and Renee feels justified in flicking him in the forehead. He jerks away but smiles good-naturedly. “I’m a little bruised and battered right now, but overall, things are good. How about you? How are you and Allison?” Renee smiles. 

“We’re also good. She’s asking me a lot more questions recently, about boundaries and the like,” Renee responds. Neil makes a non-committal sound at that. Renee nudges his leg with her own. “I know you had a hand in that. Allison told me about your conversation with her.”

“I wasn’t trying to meddle-” Neil starts, but Renee cuts him off. 

“I’m not angry. I’m grateful.” Neil shuts up after that. “Sometimes we aren’t on the same page. We’re different people who come from very different backgrounds. These days it’s easier to navigate that. Thank you for your help in that,” Renee explains. There’s a pause. 

“I’m glad I could help,” Neil says, quietly. 

“How about you and Andrew?” Renee asks. Neil cuts her a look from under his lashes. 

“You and Andrew sparred recently, you should know exactly how me and Andrew are,” Neil retorts, and Renee cocks her head to acknowledge his point. She and Andrew don’t talk much in their sparring sessions, but they have known each other long enough to understand the significance of certain silences. Renee doesn’t think she’s ever seen Andrew more content with his life. It’s incredible to watch so many of her prayers for him answered. It’s even more incredible to look at the winded striker in front of her and know that he’s the reason for many of those answered prayers. Andrew doesn’t respect religion, but Renee believes it was more than just coincidence that brought these two to each other.

“I know what Andrew thinks, but I’m asking you,” she says, making a distinction.

“We’re good too. Everything is good. Even the bad days are better than they’ve ever been before,” Neil says. There’s a smile that grows on his face as he thinks about Andrew, and Renee knows that face, sees it in the mirror every time she wakes up before Allison and gets to see her sleepy and bare-faced in her bed. 

Neil is still talking. “We’re learning Russian together, and sometimes, when Nicky or Aaron is in the room, he’ll stand really close to me and speak Russian in this low voice. They’re both convinced he’s dirty talking, but it’s almost always just random strings of vocabulary that we’re learning that week. One time he said ‘boat, dog, cat, lamp,’ and Aaron threw a book at us and told us to get a room. I don’t get how people think he doesn’t have a sense of humor, he’s so funny. ” He’s giggling as he talks, and Renee starts giggling too, laughing at the whole situation, at the son of the mafia and an abuse survivor turned killer having innocent fun together because they can now. And she can too. 

There was once a time that Renee believed she would never be happy, would never be whole. When she wore a different name, and dealt violence like cards, and kept her heart cold and guarded because to be vulnerable was to die. Now she gets to relax on the weekend and gossip about her best friend who trusts her, and go home to her beautiful bratty girlfriend who adores her, and call her mother who saved her, and pray to her god that cares for her. Her heart swells in her ribcage. 

“Thank you, Neil,” she says. 

“For what?” He responds, genuinely puzzled. 

“For spending this time with me,” she says, and she means it. She likes Neil, likes him a lot more for how he affects Andrew. 

“It’s my pleasure. You’re definitely my favorite in-law,” Neil replies glibly. She quirks a brow at him. He blushes but continues defiantly, “I’m staying with him for as long as he’ll have me. Death do us part and all that.” 

Renee laughs at that, and grabs his hand, hauling him to his feet. They leave the gym together, Renee already texting Matt about setting up a pot for when exactly these two get hitched.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it!


End file.
